Disclaimer: Don't own D. Gray-Man, never will.
Special Thanks To
The awesome beta-reader , All who reviewed, All who faved, All who subscribed, All who voted and All who reads
I'm very sorry for the extremely late update. I had my half-yearlies last week so was studying my head off. XD Lots of flashbacks this chapter. I plan to tell Dem's life story here. XD
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On the voyage to Edo
"Marian's not dead." says the self-proclaimed-to-be-converted akuma. "He had landed and is on a mission in the direction of Edo."
The three exorcists – Miranda, Lavi and Bookman stood in front of a large, shining crystal, emitting high levels of energy. Lenalee was inside.
"Mission?" Lavi questioned.
On the other side of the large boat, Anita and Mahoja listened to the conversation. They weren't able to get near because of the energy emitted from the Innocence crystal.
"Boss…did you hear?" Mahoja whispered.
"Yes…" Anita replied with tear in her eyes. "Thank God."
"In the direction of Edo? Isn't he in Edo?" Lavi continued.
"We're coming close but at the same time, we are not quite there yet." The akuma replied.
"What's in Edo?"
"There is a box there. A very big box. A plant for generating akuma using heretic rituals. General Cross's mission is to destroy that, don't you know?"
The three exorcists were shocked. Not by the new piece of information they acquired in the least, but by the fact that the General is actually doing his job…for once.
"Before you get excited, there are too many impediments and the General would find it hard to move around." The akuma said.
Lavi smiled and cross his arm behind his head. "Does that mean he needs our help?"
"No." The akuma replied bluntly, "I came to deliver a message. The General said: 'You guys are a hindrance, go home!'"
"The General said what?" Bookman frowned.
The akuma explained, "Japan is already the Earl's country. The capital, Edo, is the nest of akuma above Level 3. The chances of us coming out alive are low-"
Suddenly, the Innocence crystal containing Lenalee emitted a bright light, illuminating the entire ship. The beam of light shot up into heaven and gradually thinned. From inside, Lenalee emerged. However, on her legs were no longer her Dark Boots, but a peculiar pattern of target-like shapes.
"Lenalee!" Lavi rushed up to Lenalee and held her up by the shoulder.
Something small and round rolled out of Lenalee's hand, Anita's hair band. Tear rolled down Lenalee's cheeks. "Lavi…am I…still alive?"
From the corner of Lavi's eyes, tear started to fall. He knew he wasn't supposed to cry.
Miranda rushed to their side, using her Innocence to temporarily revert Lenalee's injuries.
~x.X.x~
"If we enter Japan…it just means more hardship ahead of us. Should we continue? Or shouldn't we? You guys decide." The Akuma asked.
Lavi, Anita, Miranda and Crowley turned to Lenalee, waiting for an answer, though it was already predicted.
"Let's go on!" The Chinese exorcist said, with a determined smile. "We can't just go back from here. If we turn back now, we are wasting the lives of those that got us this far." Lenalee tried to stand, but the effects of over-using her Innocence made her unable to do that.
Two hands grabbed each of her arms, pulling her gently but yet powerfully to her feet. Lavi and Crowley helped her up.
"Now we've just got Lenalee's approval, let's go!" Lavi announced. "Even though we are all worn out, we can't stop here. Let's go! To Edo!"
Through the metal bars separating the beast from freedom, the girl watched it with curiosity, fascination but also wary. Bidelia was going to have to train this newcomer and perform it by next week.
This job Bidelia had always been doing, even before Mony was born, it's dangerous. This much both Chase and Mony knew. However, they have not known any other way of surviving so there's no other option. This is the only way they can survive in this cruel world.
But this is going to change soon. Everything Mony knew would change. Her world would change. It is scary but also inviting. It wouldn't necessarily mean a better life, just more freedom. They might have to struggle to survive. They might not be certain to get food every day. But these are just the price they need to pay to get out of this hell hole.
Bidelia said last week that after Christmas, they would leave this place and never come back again. They will leave here and seek out a place where they don't have to depend on others to live. They can reach a place where they no longer need to be under the control of another person. It's so close. The end is so close. Hope is so close. Neither of them were willing to let that long awaited chance to slip away. Christmas, because Christmas is the largest and last show of the year, after the Christmas Show everyone gets a long break until January next year.
That's why Mony is especially concerned about this Christmas Show. Cosmo said that Bidelia has to perform with the new tiger, that hasn't been given a name, on Christmas. The new tiger is fiercer, bigger and wilder than any other beast they have in the circus. Bidelia was only given a month to train it.
It should be enough time. Bidelia is an expert on beasts. It should be enough time, right?
They can't afford to have anyone injured or anything going wrong. If that happens, it might mean needing to stay here for another year before being able to get out.
She absent-mindedly manoeuvred a hand up to her collar bone and touched the necklace Bidelia gave her not so long ago.
Cosmo had been harsher than ever before these few months. He's getting more and more intolerable.
"Mony!" Chase's voice rang out from the outside of the tent.
"Here!" The girl replied.
The boy soon appeared through the entrance. "I just heard that Cosmo-"
"Not interested." The girl stopped him quickly, before some gruelling tale of the man ruins the day.
Chase folded his arms across his chest in a knowing manner. "Thought you'd say that." The boy smiled hopefully, "Think of the bright side! In a few weeks we can get out from here!"
Mony looked down to the tiger, supposedly imported from India via the Black Market. "Yeah."
"Anyways, I was about to tell you. Cosmo's been getting worse. I just heard that he beat an old dog to death out of jealousy." Chase said, disregarding the girl's unwillingness to listen.
"Old dog? There's a dog on the premises?"Mony was surprised. She thought she knew this place well enough.
"Don't you remember?" Chase raised his eyebrows. "It's the dog that's always either in the courtyard or following the clown around."
"Hm..."
"Hey, I think that errand boy, what's his name? Oh, I don't remember but it doesn't matter. You know the one with the weird arm?"
"Yeah?"
"Apparently, Flamingo said that he saw the dog licking that cursed arm a few days before. And look where it got that dog? It's dead now." Chase shrugged with a sigh.
"So is that curse really true?"
ROAR!
Chase jumped. The tiger suddenly lunged itself at the bars, in the direction of the girl and the boy.
"Woah! Calm down! Kitty!"Chase said, while slowing backing away from the cage.
"Is there any way we can not let Bidelia perform with it next week?" Mony suddenly asked.
"No. Why? Are you doubting Bidelia's abilities to train an animal? She'll be fine! She's been doing this long before you were born."
"Yeah."Mony turned to Chase with anxious eyes.
Chase slapped Mony's back in a playful manner. "Don't be silly. Is that what you were churning over in your brain for the past few days?"
Mony's anxious eyes suddenly turned into a glare. "Just because nothing has happened before doesn't mean nothing will ever happen." As suddenly as the glare appeared, it disappeared. Mony, like waking from a trance, shook her head and quickly went out of the room.
Chase was left standing alone, scratching his head, wondering what had gotten into his sister.
Japan, Edo
"What did you say?" Tyki turned around and questioned the floating card, in which a small clown was caged. It held a mop in its hand.
"Allen Walker's name, it won't disappear no matter how hard I scrub!" the clown said.
"That can't be!" Tyki's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Scrub harder! Don't try to trick me into letting you out of that cage!"
"This guy's definitely alive!" The clown in the card said with certainty.
Tyki frowned, in both suspicion and doubt.
"Hey hey hey!" A voice from further into the forest of cherry blossoms rang out, accompanied with the footsteps of two people. Tyki turned around, there stood two boys in strange attire.
One had spiky black hair, a load of eye makeup which also consisted of a sharp line through his left eye. He had on a large jacket with fur lining its hood, hanging down his back. Inside was a T-shirt with the word "Death" written. He had laced up legging on one leg, the other ended at his mid-thigh. He wore matching black laced up boots with fur lining its rim.
The other one had on a distinctive blonde wig, a crown made of thorn and also a load of eye makeup. He had on a matching vest with the other one, black with fur lining the rims and the hood. He had bandages all around both his hands. He had the same tights although his covered both his legs and the same boots.
"I heard you are on a special mission, Tyki." The second one said.
"Hey, as usual, you look terrible."
With their sense of fashion insulted, the first one lifted a foot to kick Tyki, who skillfully blocked it with this arm. "You tramp! My name is Debbito!"
The second one joined in. "And I'm Jasdero!"
"Together, we're Jasdebi!" They said in unison.
"Leave me alone, I need to think."
"Hey, you're going around killing all those related to 'that', right? That's why you're here in Edo."
"Yeah, I have to kill a guy called Cross."
At the mention of the name, the twins seemed to be angered. "He's our target! Touch him and we'll kill you!"
"Oh, so you guys, who are assigned to kill the Generals, are in charge of Cross? Then hurry and kill him, what's taking you so long?"
"Shut up! He's unusually hard to get rid of!" Debitto said.
"We've already tried to kill his three time and failed. Hee hee." Jasdero explained.
Tyki and Debitto sat in a cart pulled by Jasdero. Suddenly, they bumped into something. Jasdero felt something heavy on the cart.
Skin Boric landed in the cart. Debitto held a gun to his head while Tyki leaned carelessly on his hand.
"So…sweet tooth is here." Tyki said in a bored tone.
"My name isn't sweet tooth. I'm Skin Boric!" He said in the same raspy voice as always. "I've been assigned to kill the General wearing glasses, and he's here."
"We all sound like failing businessmen…"
"And that's that!"
"Hey! Don't count me in!"
"Hee hee! The boss is going to be angry! Hee! Hee!"
Where is this?
I know this place, I've been here before.
It's dark, it's not real. Is it in a dream?
It's water above me, it's water below me. I'm stuck here in the middle.
The world below, it has a large black moon against plain white sky. It was filled with large ruins. The ruins looked like…the Headquarters.
In the world above, there was a large white moon against a black sky, dotted with stars. White trees with branches at a surreal angle. Crosses stood in the ground beneath the trees.
Like last time, I stood on water's surface. I knelt down, trying to get to either of the world, above or below me, rather than being trapped inside this band of total darkness. I was standing on something invisible, so I can't get down. I looked up, trying to reach as high as I can; no way I was going to reach the above world either.
No. It's fine. I'm fine staying where I am. It's fine…
Last time, last time Lenalee was crying above the ruins, Allen was next to the water in the world below. Now, there's no one here.
I'm fine where I am. I will not depend on anyone anymore. No more. That kind of feeling, I never want to feel it again. Dependence means a lack of freedom, a potential to get hurt, a potential to loose the purpose of survival. That time of darkness, I don't want to go through that again. If it means being able to protect myself, I don't care about anything else.
I heard something. Something before me. I looked forward. There stood a person. He was tall, wearing a cloak. Can't see his face, or anything else. All I can see is his eyes and a smile. The rest of him is filled with a spiral pattern, can't see anything. He smiled.
"Who are you?" I asked.
He didn't reply, he faded away.
"Mony…" Bidelia's voice? I turned around.
There was nothing.
Just once, just once, I would like to see Bidelia and Chase again. Staying here…is not too bad either. I don't have to think about anything else. Nothing to worry about. It's better, actually.
But there's something I feel I must do. I can't stay here yet. Something I can't give in to.
Life…it's troublesome.
Allen sat against a stone pillar, on top of a stone beam. He sighed.
Having snapped and screamed at Fou during training, she was now hiding inside her wall, refusing to come out. She must be angry.
Allen lowered his head into his hand in frustration, mostly at himself. I guess I should go apologize.
Allen lifted his still intact right hand and stared at it blankly. After all the effort he put in, he still wasn't going anywhere. It was just as Desdemona said, without finding the answer to her question, he can't move forward. Maybe it's the way he thinks that's wrong. Now that reminded him of the girl, he's been quite worried about her. She just ran to Bak's office, muttered something about Lenalee in danger and then passed out with no signs of life. According to Bak, it has happened before. Komui insisted on taking her back to Headquarters. Bak convinced Komui that it was pointless, so she's currently in the infirmary, having many life-support machines attached to her. They said she's getting better.
Lenalee...she's in danger, Desdemona said. Allen looked at his hand. He's powerless. Everyone around him is fighting their own battle, he can't help.
"Hah~" Allen sighed again, absent-mindedly. "I can only see darkness…"
Someone tapped on Allen's shoulder. He turned around and shrieked. It was Lou Fa, holding a lamp below her face, illuminating her own face in an eerie manner.
"Miss Lou Fa! What are you doing?"
"Oh, this! I heard you said it's dark, so I brought a lantern." Lou Fa handed Allen the lantern.
"That's…not exactly what I meant…"
"Here you go."
"Thanks…" Allen took over the lantern.
Lou Fa popped herself down on the stone beam next to Allen. "Your arm, it must be very hard for you since you are working so hard…"
"Oh, no. It's such a shame that I'm finding this so difficult…"
"Don't say that! You're putting so much effort into this!"
"No matter how much effort I put in…if it doesn't add up to anything, it means nothing."
"Nothing?" Lou Fa tilted her head. "What is it that you want to do?"
"Huh?" Allen was asked this sort of question before. He has not reached an answer yet.
"Do you feel that you must destroy the Noahs? Burdening yourself with the lives of those you could not save. Do you feel that you must fight as many battles as possible?" Lou Fa smiled, "The thing that's pushing you forward…isn't it the kindness in your heart? And yet that very kindness makes you feel obligated to fight many battles, and could it be that your sense of obligation is forcing you to ignore your true desires? We do not fight for the purpose of simply fighting, we fight because there's something important we have to fight for."
Allen was dumbfounded by the answer this girl gave him, the answer that he should know and don't know. "You…"
"WHHHAAATTTT!" Another Lou Fa stood in the corridor behind Allen and Lou Fa. "I'm…FLIRTING WITH MR. WALKER!"
"What…what happened, Lou Fa! There's two of them!" Allen looked from Lou Fa 1 to Lou Fa 2.
The Lou Fa sitting next to Allen suddenly turned into Fou. "Damn, she ruined everything!" She stood up and walked started walking away, annoyed. "Don't get this wrong, Walker. It's not as it I was trying to cheer you up, OK? I'm still totally pissed at you! I'm angry! And it tires me! I'm sleeping! All because of this troublesome kid."
"Thank you Fou." Allen said as Fou started walking away. "For the light."
Fou tried to hold back a smile. However, she suddenly jerked back as if in pain.
"Miss Fou?" Allen asked.
Bak…
Bak…BAK!
HIDE ALLEN, BAK!
With a burst of air, irregular polygons started pouring out from a hole opened at Fou's chest. The top panel had the numbers '-57-'
"FOU!" Allen rushed forward.
"So you are the barrier?" A voice said from the panels, an akuma.
"Why…how can a mere akuma break through my barrier?"
"I didn't do anything." The akuma said, emerging out from one of the panel. "You see, it was Noah's Ark that allowed me to pass through. I've come to pick you up, Allen Walker!"
What if she accidentally let out the wrong tiger? What if she wheeled the wrong cage and distracted Chase long enough so that they don't have time to switch it back? What if they were left with no choice but to use Kugar instead? Kugar's been properly trained and had been performing for years now. Bidelia should be fine with Kugar.
It's better to have Cosmo getting angry at her than letting something bad happen to Bidelia. She'd rather let Cosmo hit her.
But what if Cosmo takes it out on Bidelia instead? Mony could bear with anything but that. Even though Cosmo hadn't been that bad to Bidelia before, but since the recent turn of events, Mony's not sure what Cosmo would do.
Her thoughts took her mind away from where she was walking. She suddenly fell forward and only came to realization after she hit the floor. She looked back, a small pile of dirt was dumped in the middle of the courtyard in the shape of a small hill. Who on earth did that?
She quickly got up and dusted her pants. She looked up and was surprised to see the errand boy staring at her with a slightly defensive glare. She frowned and continued walking, ignoring the weird boy. She's currently too occupied to worry about others. If everything goes well, she'll be leaving as soon as Christmas arrives. If everything goes well, she will never have to see this place ever again. That's all she wanted - to be with Bidelia and Chase and be free.
She walked, looking up towards the sky, admiring the beautiful blue colour. She suddenly wondered what it'd be like to be able to fly, like birds.
Her legs carried her mechanically back to their tent. She lifted the 'door' (which was a piece of cloth hang over the hole in the material of the tent) aside and stepped in. Bidelia was tidying her trunk. She had been doing a lot of tidying recently, she said she was packing up, ready to go.
"Mony! Come! Have a look at what I found at the bottom of this trunk. I forgot I even had this!" Bidelia held up a picture frame, inside, a faded black and white photo sat idly for many years, not seeing the sunlight. Mony went up closer and squinted to see through the deteriorated glass.
There was a beautiful young lady in the centre of the picture. Her smile had a rare warmth, like sunshine on a cold, winter's morning. She was wearing a gorgeous dress. Mony couldn't tell what colour it was, since the photo was yellowed. However, the small, magnificent details of it were still clearly visible. There was lace running along the edges of her collars and cuffs. A small, dark cape draped across the lady's shoulders. Her thin waist was emphasized by a corset-like piece slightly darker than the dress. The ribbons were tied together in a bow at the back, the loop of the bow slightly visible from the front. The dress then flowered out gracefully but yet humbly in small, gentle waves. Mony's eyes were glued to the lady for a long while, before tearing her eyes away and observed the rest of the picture.
There was a taller and much older man standing next to the girl, like her father. Her presumed mother stood on the other side. Her mother was obviously Asian. Mony had never seen an Asian before, only heard them from tales of the travellers. They have yellow skin, thin, small eyes and glowing black hair. The older woman was one of them, definitely. The travellers did say that once, a lot of European traders went to China, she thought it was called, to trade with the Chinese. Some married Chinese women and brought them back to Europe. They were interesting tales. However, she only had the luxury of eavesdropping the travellers. Mony looked back at the young lady again. Now that she saw the Asian woman, the young lady in the centre seemed to have Asian resemblances too.
The older man on the other side had a serious face. He was holding a walking stick, probably of high quality, Mony wouldn't know. He seemed withdrawn from the other two, as if proud of his coldness, solitude and detachment. Are rich men always like that? Not wanting to appear reliant on their families.
Bidelia took the picture back and stared a long while at it. A small nostalgic smile crept onto her lips. She gestured Mony to sit by her side.
Mony sat down on the hard floor. It wasn't even proper floor. Just dirt. "Who's that?"
Bidelia smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "That's me, you idiot."
"That's Bidelia?" Mony said in a surprised tone.
"What's there to be surprised about? Have I aged so much that I do not resemble my younger and more beautiful self anymore?"
"No no! It's just that…Bidelia was from a family like this?"
"I did tell you that I came from a big family didn't I? And told you about my piano teacher. Well, we weren't rich. We were just lucky, I guess. I was lucky anyway."
"Then who are these other people?"
"Well, if that's me in the centre, who do you think the others are?"
"I don't know." Mony lied. She knew it was Bidelia's mother and father, but just in case…
"Silly girl. These two people are your grandfather and grandmother!"
Mony nodded. "Then they are your mother and father?"
"Of course! Who else can they be?"
"Why is your mother Asian?"
"She's Chinese. I don't know, actually. They never told me…maybe they never had the chance to tell me. I don't know. I grew up with my mother as she was. She never really took care of me though, a nurse did. Mother had tiny feet, she said they were hard to walk with, so she usually stays in her room. She was also very frail, always sick."
"Oh. Does that mean Bidelia is Chinese too?"
"Well, yeah, half."
"Does that mean I am half Chinese too?"
"Quarter."
Mony lowered her head. She was just about to ask Bidelia why she is quarter, not half but decided against it. She knew the answer. The answer lies in who one would call 'father'.
That hateful man is not her father. She does not have a father, having Bidelia is enough. Having Chase as a brother is enough. Just the three of them is enough.
She would never ask for anything else. This is enough.
"When I have enough time, I'll tell you about my childhood. But now, I have to do more cleaning up." Bidelia said with a warm tone.
"Do you need any help?" Mony offered.
"No, it's ok. Just keep that necklace safe, ok? Never take it off." Mony nodded.
"I'm going!" Allen insisted.
Having been influenced by the ability of the akuma, it was possible for Allen to shatter and disintegrate into simple molecules at any second. To keep Allen safe, Bak sent in Fou, in the disguise of Allen, into a sealed room with the akuma to battle to death as to give Allen time to escape. However, being the kind and stubborn person Allen was, he refused to escape and insisted on opening the barrier himself. Despite the entire Asian Branch staff dragging on him, he still tried everything he can to stay, including blackmailing Bak on matters of Lenalee's pictures.
"When I first met you, you asked me if I still wanted to return to the battlefield…And I answered yes."
Having guessed what Allen was going to say, Bak vigorously and yet carefully shook the boy's shoulders. "I mean once you can fight as an exorcist again! Your Innocence hasn't yet recovered! At the moment, you are just a human!"
"Wrong…" Allen first muttered under his breath, "WRONG!"
Bak was shocked by Allen's strong refusal.
"Just now…" Allen began, "When I saw the Akuma, I could feel my blood boiling so vigorously as if it had been frozen all this time. I could hear my heart pounding so loudly as if it wasn't moving until then. I could feel the blood rushing in me and the warmth was so comforting…"
"Walker? What are you saying…"
"And then I realized. Before, you likened me, 'my very existence' to an anti-akuma weapon. And maybe you were right. What my soul craved so much was an Akuma!"
Bak was wordless with shock.
"I'm not HUMAN anymore! I am an Exorcist! Please, let me return to the battlefield. Back to where the akumas were!"
Suddenly, a large beam of light, like the shape of Allen's arm, surrounded Allen and the two restraining him. It crashed down on the three along with Bak, who shielded his eyes at the bright light. When the light faded, Allen was gone.
Bzzzz…
Bak turned around to the sound of electricity crackling. Allen stood there. "I'm going, thank you, Bak."
Bak tightened his fist, the seal he put on the room opened. At only 15…what I said, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, Walker.
~x.X.x~
The akuma pointed an arrogant finger at Bak, who held the injured Fou. "Dumbass, did you actually think that weak attack could hurt an Akuma?
Shining threads launched themselves at Bak and Fou, piercing them in numerous places while disintegrating them.
Fou glanced at the only thing left of Allen, his right hand, also disintegrating into a sea of matter.
For some reason, Allen's consciousness was still intact. In that one millisecond, he thought over the things Desdemona said, the things Fou said as Lou Fa, the things Bak said, and maybe, just maybe, he found an answer.
He once fought only for the akuma, it was the only thing that mattered. However, he almost gave up on that. They, the people around him, became important to him, so important that he forgot about it.
Innocence, come to me!
Another beam of light, shining with the light of the Innocence, came down on Allen's near-disintegrated and outstretched hand.
My left hand, I give you to the akuma. My right, I give you to the humans. Both are part of me, and equally important, so neither will be disappointed. Humans, as well as akuma, will become my purpose.
Something white and furry came over Bak and Fou, it looked like a white fur cape with a mask, with only a left arm visible.
Haha. This is ironic. She did say something about this when she was angry. She told him to turn into particles and get shut in the room with his Innocence.
This is it.
The last show.
This is the last time, ever, that they will need to do this.
Mony doesn't feel sad, to be leaving this hell hole once and for all. Even though it means leaving behind everything she knew, she wasn't sad.
A little scared, maybe, to face the unknown world outside. But she know she will be fine, because Chase and Bidelia are with her.
They will all be fine.
But why is this happening? Mony decided she will switch the cages, now there's no chance.
Mony stared warily at the tall, fat man standing next her, far away from the cage with an expression of disgust. Cosmo said that he wanted to make sure the newcomer is released properly. With Cosmo here, Mony can no longer just make a mistake and release Kugar. Cosmo can tell the difference, unfortunately, because the new one is obviously much bigger.
"It stinks in here." Cosmo spat.
The two ignored him. Chase, not knowing whether to respond and Mony, with too many other things on her mind to hear. Cosmo raised an eyebrow at the silence. He dislikes being ignored.
Sensing Cosmo's potential anger, Chase quickly answered, "Sir, the animals are always like this."
"Well, you two brats should've washed them!" Cosmo raised his voice.
"Yes Sir." Chase replied obediently, avoiding angering the man even further. Mony bit her teeth together. Her own frustration is not helping. Why do they need to comply with everything this useless man says? Why do they have to obey him? Why is he even alive? Even though without his existence she would not exist, she didn't care. She was not meant to exist anyway.
Cosmo noticed the girl's silence. She is ignoring him. He scowled. That scum, how dare she ignore him? He suddenly lifted his leg, without any subtlety, and kicked the girl behind her knee. She was sent down into a kneeling position. She bit her teeth together as her knees impacted on the hard floor. But the pain went unnoticed. Something greater came upon her, an intense heat urging up from her chest.
Chase rushed to her side but froze midway. What he saw made his bones shiver. The girl glared at the large man. Even though her size was not intimidating, but her glare alone was enough to make a lion cower in fear. The glare was cold enough to freeze lava yet so much anger was emitted that the heat could cook a man alive. There was also something else, something Chase couldn't read past the extreme anger, but somehow, he knew that that something is even more frightening than her anger, he did not want to know. Then, suddenly, her eyes turned gold for a flash second. Chase thought he was hallucinating.
He glanced at Cosmo, who was the direct receiver of that deadly glare. Chase was shocked. It was not only him who was scared. Cosmo was shaking, literally shaking. He slowly lifted a shaking hand and pointed at the girl accusingly. "D-De- The demon…" He muttered.
Chase quickly came to his senses and continued what he was doing. He ran to his sister's side and helped her up. As she slowly stood up, her eyes never left Cosmo.
"Mony! Mony!" Chase tried to get the girl's attention but failed. He waved a hand in front of her face, which caused her to glare towards him for a split second. Chase nearly jumped back. The direct impact of that glare is even more frightening. There's something in there that's unknown. And the unknown element is what makes it most frightening. It makes people recall their own worst fears. For Chase, it was losing either of his two family members, and just for that split second, he felt he was going to lose both of them.
As if waking from a daze, Mony blinked several times and looked at Chase with confusion. The heat disappeared. Her anger, she can't feel it anymore. Chase had on a frightened expression, Cosmo was shaking. What just happened?
"Mony…" Chase started.
"D-DEMON!" Cosmo suddenly shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the girl. "That woman. That damned woman! She gave birth to you. It's her fault! It's your fault for being born! You shouldn't exist. YOU SHOULDN'T EXIST!"
Chase stood in front of Mony in a defensive manner. "It's neither of their fault! It's your fault! If you didn't-"
"Shut up! Shut up! It's not my fault. I don't know that girl…I don't know…don't know…." Cosmo's voice slowly trailed off as he slowly walked out of the Cage area in a dazed manner.
Mony tapped Chase's shoulder. He turned back to see a frowning expression. "Why do you say it's his fault?"
Chase turned around. "Because-"
"Ladies and gentlemen, the final show you've all been waiting for. From our Beastmaster Bidelia!"
From the backstage, the two can hear the crowd cheering with excitement.
"Now, we are proud to announce that we bought a new tiger straight from Africa! And today, you are all lucky enough to see it for the first time! I present to you, Bidelia!"
Chase ran to the curtain, watching out for the cue Bidelia will give them to release the tiger.
Mony got another surge of unnamable sensation from her heart. Something bad is going to happen. She was sure of it. She can't release the tiger. She must not release the tiger. It's too late to do a switch now, Cosmo had been in here the entire time, costing her the time to switch the cages. There's not enough time what should she do?
"Come on! We need to prepare!" Chase said.
"But-"
Chase rested a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "Trust in Bidelia, ok? This is the last time. After this we'll be gone from here, forever, tonight." He smiled encouragingly before turning around, starting the preparations to open the cage.
Mony lowered her head, defeated. There's nothing she could do. She can only help Chase. If she doesn't, Chase will try to open the cage himself, which may likely lead to injuries. There's really nothing she can do anymore. She half-heartedly started picking up ropes from the floor. Her body already used to the same series of actions that it became robotic.
A part of her was trying to warn her about something she did not yet understand. Another part of her was trying to push the first part back and lock it up. The first part is now banging inside her head, trying to get her attention. The second part is trying to restrain the first part and subdue it.
The loud sound of crowd cheering was heard as Bidelia steps onto the stage. Mony didn't see it, but she could imagine it. Normally, at the sound of the cheers, pride would fill her. Bidelia is amazing, this many people, cheering for her. However, tonight, the cheers sounded nothing more than irritating shouts and screams.
Chase gestured Mony to get into position. The girl sluggishly moved over to the rope connecting to the hook. She climbed to the top of the cage, placed the hook in position, ready to be hauled. She then jumped down, landing on the other side of the cage to Chase.
The tiger paced the small, confined space of the cage, seemingly irritated.
The second part of her is winning against the first part. Mony calmed down a little. It's true, what Chase said. They should believe in Bidelia. She had been doing this for years and nothing has ever happened. This is the last time, nothing would happen now or in the future. It will be fine. Mony herself had been watching Bidelia train this tiger, it seemed fine. Occasionally, it would disobey some simple commands but nothing major. So this last time, it's going to be ok.
Two loud, clear claps echoed in the performance tent, penetrating the thick curtains and reaching the ears of the two in the back stage. Chase pulled the lever.
As soon as the metal bars were lifted up, the beast charged straight out onto the stage. Surprised screams were heard from the audience as the large beast paced the Show tent.
The familiar sound of Bidelia's whip sounded. Then the sound of audiences' awed gasps as the large, wild beast obediently sat down on the wooden block. Mony can imagine it all, without even seeing it for herself, she can imagine it all.
She smiled to herself, remembering that after this one last time it will be all over; remembering that after one last time they can get out of here; remembering that after this, they can be free and together. After so many years of not knowing any other way of life, they can finally get away and see the rest of the world.
The world seems full of potential, full of hope. Maybe one day the three might be able to start a small business of their own. They don't have to depend on anyone else, just the three of them, together, happy. The thoughts made Mony smile even wider.
"What are you thinking about? Smiling like that?" Chase said, waking the girl from her daydream.
"I was just thinki-"
"Raawwwwww!"
"AHHHHHHHH!"
A booming roar followed by loud, high pitched screams came from the audience were heard. Mony and Chase jumped at the suddenness. They looked at each other across the cage. They each saw a range of emotions flashing across each other's eyes. Confusion, more confusion, realization, doubt, reasoning, horror, anxiety and alarm.
Both of them moved in unison, they manoeuvred gracefully with skill through the backstage they've been in every single day. They jumped onto the ramp and hurried to the slit in the material of the tent. They can see the bright light shining through from the stage.
Chase reached there first. He swiped the material away and out of his way. Mony looked up from behind the boy, only seeing him frozen rigid in place. She too reached the opening, but Chase blocked her view. She was about to look past Chase when he suddenly turned around, pulling her head into an embrace so that her view was completely obscured.
"Don't look…" Chase's voice shook and so did his hands.
Mony suddenly felt like she was falling into a void. The worst possible outcome, she did not even want to think about it. However, given the reactions from the audience, Chase and every detail since a week ago up to now, the only possible outcome that fits all is…is…
That's can't be it! Mony decides to check for herself. If she did, maybe she will be proven wrong. She struggled against Chase's grip.
"No! I said no!" Chase reinforced.
The moment he said that, his grip slackened a little and Mony caught a glimpse.
It was a view she would never forget for the rest of her life.
The audiences were all trying to escape. There was blood, blood everywhere. The tiger…the tiger had something in its mouth.
It had something in its mouth.
It had something in its mouth that looked like a human.
A human hanging by the neck from the tiger's jaw.
The human was dripping a lot of blood.
The human was a woman.
She had black hair.
She wore black leather pants and jacket.
She had a whip in her hand.
That thing in the tiger's mouth is Bidelia.
Bidelia is dead.
Sorry again for the late update. I'm so tired. TAT
Review!
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